Love Is For Children

Chapter 2

"So...are you settling in okay?" Steve asks from the seat next to her.

They had sat down at neighbouring seats, as per the teacher's instruction, rather awkwardly at that, a quiet 'hi.' being exchanged before they lapsed into silence.

Natasha doesn't know what it is about him that puts her on edge. She can see why the girls swoon, but it's not that. There's just something magnetic about him, something deep, dark, that ripples to the surface every so often that would send anyone mad. And with those looks, all that blonde hair and chiselled jaw and...yeah. Natasha is starting to see exactly why.

She can feel his eyes on her, a glance here and there as the lesson gets started. His gaze feels heavy, something that presses her down, makes it hard to breathe. She doesn't know what he's thinking, and doesn't want to ask, so she keeps her head locked on the page of algebraic fractions, ignoring his furtive side glances.

———————

Steve doesn't know what to think. He doesn't know how to act. Should he say something? He glances at her a few times, wondering what on earth he would say. There's just something about her that completely debilitates his usually perfect social skills. She's so different to everyone he knows. She has this air about her. Just so...honest. Uncomplicated. Unapologetic. He gets the feeling she's the kind of person to be exactly who she is, no question, and if you don't like that, well that's your loss. He does like it though. They've barely said two words to each other, but Steve knows with absolute certainty, Natasha Romanoff is someone you want to know.

He breaks the ice first. "So...are you settling in okay?"

She looks up from the sums, surprised. It dawns on her that he's not just saying this to fill the silence, but actually cares about the answer. That's new. "Yeah I'm fine. This is a nice school."
"You haven't been here an hour yet." He comments. Something like a smile twitches her mouth.
"It's all about the people, Rogers."
"Speaking of, do you want to come out with us after school today? We usually go to the park, sometimes the Costa over the road." He offers, slightly nervously.
"Sure." She accepts.
"You don't have anything to get back for?"
"Trust me Steve, the only person I was planning to be home for today was Meredith Grey."
There's a pause before he replies. "Mood."
She's caught of guard, and gives a sceptical snort. "You know Grey's Anatomy?"
He raises an eyebrow and twirls his pencil between his fingers. "Know it? I live for that show."
"Seriously?" She looks surprised.
"Seriously. Seriously! Seriously." He replies, grinning. She laughs properly, understanding the reference.

"I would not have picked you for the type." She leans back in her seat, surveying him.
"What can I say? It's my mother's fault." He shrugs.
"Your mother has good taste."
"Oh she's just there for Jackson Avery, do not mistake her for the true fan she pretends to be." He grins again.
"I won't if I meet her." Natasha chuckles back. "I have so many questions, but let's leave the fan-girling 'til later."

And just like that, the awkwardness dissolves, gone like it was never there. They chat freely, conversation just bubbling to the surface, the laughs coming easily, until the end of the lesson.

"I'll see you at break?" She asks as they pack up.
"I'll look forward to it." He throws over his shoulder, disappearing through the doorway and into the horde in the hallway.

As soon as Natasha steps out of the door, Wanda, Carol, Pepper and Maria essentially descend on her like a pack of hyenas. Suddenly someone yanks her arm across the hall and she's pulled into stride beside them.
"Wait where-" She tried to protest, and as they round a corner they swerve into a bathroom, where their grip on her arms loosens, though they still stay in a huddle.
"Guys, what is going on?" She questions.
"You and Steve, that's what's going on!" Pepper answers.
"Me and Steve? We were just-"
"Flirting?" Maria offers, a coy smile on her face.
"-getting to know each other." Natasha asserts, glaring at Maria, who smirks further.
"Uh huh." Carol nods sarcastically. "So all that chemistry-" She coughs, lowering her voice. "sexual tension -" Natasha rolls her eyes. "was all just friendly banter?"
"I'm so glad you've caught on." She crosses her arms over her chest.
""Oh come on," Wanda interjects. "There's obviously something between you."
"What, like you and Bucky?" Natasha's mouth curves into a mischievous grin. Carol, who has turned to take a sip from the water fountain, splutters with laughter, water dripping down her shirt as Pepper and Maria smirk and exchange knowing glances. Wanda, on the other hand, has blanched.
"Wh-what?" She asks, astonished.
"I may be new, but I'm far from blind. You two were making eyes at each other for practically the whole of form time, and don't think I didn't notice that little sign language you've got going on."
"You and Bucky have your own sign language?" The others chorus.
"Uh..." Wanda bites her lip. "...yeah. It's closer to morse code, but yeah." She looks away, her fingers twiddling nervously.
"You have a thing for him, don't you." Maria appeals, though it's more of a statement than a question.
"Yeah, I do. I like him. At least I'm not in denial." Her eyes glint at Natasha in playful challenge.
"I haven't known Steve two hours, you've known Bucky how long?" She retorts, looking to the others to fill her information gap.
"Four years." Carol inserts.
Wanda shrugs. "Whatever you say."
"Come on, we're going to be late for period two." Pepper chides, and they start hurrying towards their respective classrooms.

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History goes slowly: not even the teacher, who is frankly quite entertaining, can make the Spanish Armada less dull. With Mary, Queen of Scots, Natasha can understand the fascination, her whole husband debacle was like a few episodes of Eastenders, but a few hundred ships hold no interest. Until midway through the lesson when a notification pops up on her laptop screen, just after the teacher finishes her sentence.

"...the Armada's tactics and ship design were nearly 150 years old, and therefore..."

An email from Steve. She clicks on it, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.
'nearly as old as Webber' , it reads. She snorts and has to cover her mouth from audibly laughing. She looks up over the lid to see Steve looking at her from the other side of the room, an impish grin on his face. He gives a shrug, palms turned up, a gesture that says Am I right or am a right?
She tilts her head and nods, replying with, You're right.

The rest of the lesson drones, and it's a relief when Break finally rolls around and they're let out. She and Pepper wait across the corridor for the others.
"It's only ten to eleven." Carol groans as they troop out.
"Come on," Maria puts a hand on Carol's arm as they walk towards the canteen. "let's get some food into you."
There's a pause of comfortable silence before Pepper speaks, changing the subject (unnecessarily, in Natasha's opinion).
"That little smile in History, that was because of Steve, wasn't it." She teases.
"...no." Natasha cringes, lying unconvincingly, not wanting to add fuel to the fire.
"I knew it!" Pepper clasps her hands.
"This again?" She groans.
"Wait, we need filling in here. Smile?"
"Basically, halfway through the lesson Natasha snorts with laughter at her laptop and looks across the classroom at a grinning Steve. They then proceed to make a series of facial expressions across the room for the whole lesson. I saw the whole thing, it was adorable." Pepper explains.
"Hallucinations." Natasha protests.
"Uh huh." Carol says, disbelieving. "I haven't seen him that relaxed around, you know, someone, since-" The smile slides off her face. "In a long time." She amends. Suddenly the air feels tense, thick with the thing Carol was about to say. The others look away, purse their lips. Natasha looks around, confused.
"Um, okay. Do you mind if I ask why?"
"I'm not sure it's our place to say..."
"You don't have to, if-"
"No, we don't mind, we just don't like to talk about it."

Natasha nods in understanding. She knows what that's like.

"What I was going to say, was he hasn't been that relaxed around someone since, well, Peggy." It hangs in the air for a second before Carol continues, her tone grave. "Peggy and Steve were a couple for ages, since we were 13 basically. What you might call the perfect couple." She swallows. "She died last year."

Natasha's head snaps in surprise. "Brain tumour." She goes on. "It wasn't quick. Steve stayed with her through all of it, even when she didn't even know who he was. I didn't think he'd ever... But with you, something was different. For a while, the slight shadow in his eyes, the darkness, it seemed to go. Steve's not mourning anymore. He's even been out with a few girls since, but none of them lasted more than a week. But he won't ever forget Peggy, you can be sure of that."

"I understand." Natasha replies. She shivers slightly. She hadn't imagined anything like this, not something so painful, so deep. A broken heart, maybe, but not this. She pushes any pity away, any sympathy. She knows too well those are possibly the worst things for loss. She remembers wanting to slap those people whe- Nope. Stop. We're not going to go there, she thinks. This was supposed to be a fresh start. Don't ruin it now. So she pushes down the familiar wave rising inside, plastering a smile onto her face before anyone notices anything wrong. Explaining would be too much. She doesn't want to go there again, not for a long time.

PS: I'm sorry for the Grey's inside jokes. I had to. If you don't understand I apologise, but watch it. It's great.